


The Manxome Foe

by RyuichiSakuma



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Gen, Poetry, Violence, monsters eating in gory detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5195090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuichiSakuma/pseuds/RyuichiSakuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zoro goes after a dangerous foe.</p><p>Definitions at the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Manxome Foe

**Author's Note:**

> I was writing a few of my favorite famous poems into my notebook, and as I sat and debated on switching the color in my fountain pen, I started reading this fanfic: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2551916
> 
> So I dedicate this story to both Lewis Carroll (of 'Alice In Wonderland' fame) and to the authors of One Bite. 
> 
> Eiri, thanks for betaing! Oh, and the epilogue is all Eiri's fault. >XD 
> 
> Happy Birthday Zoro! <3 **Edit:** It was before midnight when I posted this my time, honest! (^_^); (How do I change the time on AO3?)

Roronoa Zoro walked through the brillig, feeling it grip and pull on his boots as he made his way. The slithy toves at his back faded into the darkness as he walked.  
  
“Why did I agree to do this again? _”_ he muttered to himself as the gyre threatened to trip him and the gimble scratched at his clothing and skin. Occasionally he was forced to untangle either his backpack or bedroll from the gimble's curved thorns as the huge deep purple flowers brushed florescent pink pollen over both him and his pack. Fed up, he drew his katana Shusui from its black saya and began to cut himself a path, mentally apologizing to the katana as he sliced the flowering plants away.

 

The wabe he was carrying lit his chosen path in a brilliant yellow. Borogoves scrambled in front of him, their mimsy calls letting him know that he was not alone in the dark wood. Mome rathsfollowed for short distances, curious as to why the stranger was in their territory before becoming bored and wandering off, the fins that let them float in the breeze waving like lazy weeds in the sky. He stopped to watch them for a moment, the multicolored glow of their air fins as they danced in the night sky bringing a slight smile to his usually stern expression.

 

“ _Beware the Jabberwock, my son!_

_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_

_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun_

_The frumious Bandersnatch!”_

 

He had taken his adopted father Koshiro's wordsto heart when he was younger and still in training, but now that he had become a full-fledged swordsman and out on his own, the young man was willing to take risks that he knew Koshiro would not approve of.

 

The Jubjub bird had flown off with a neighbor's prized goat, leaving the family unable to collect milk, nor make cheese and butter to supplement their meager income. As the village's only true swordsman, he had volunteered to try and retrieve the precious animal.

 

The gyre and gimble thinned rapidly ahead of him, so that he could see he was approaching a clearing. Changing the wabe to its blue beam, he dimmed it and slunk ahead. The sound of crunching bone made its way back to his ears. He shut off the wabe completely and crept forward to hide behind a Tumtum tree, grateful that the bird hadn't seen him yet. This manxome foe began to tear off another chunk of flesh from the hapless goatwhile Zoro waited in uffish thought to figure out the best way to attack.

 

A horrific cry rent the air in the clearing. A Bandersnatch had come across the feasting Jubjub bird, its vibrating frill bright red as a frumious sound emanated from it. The Jubjub bird raised itshead, beak bloody with goat blood and shrieked, the sound nearly deafening to the nearby swordsman.

 

The Bandersnatch's frill frummed even louder as it used its multiple legs to rapidly climb a nearby tree. Still protecting its kill, the Jubjub bird threw itself at the Bandersnatch beak first in an attempt to impale it. Dodging, the Bandersnatch reared its upper body back and pointed the dangerous frill at its enemy, the razor-sharp teeth in the frill gnashing with a horrible noise.

 

The pair met in a clash of feathers and leathery skin. The Jubjub shrieked as its wing was impaled by teeth from the Bandersnatch's frill before the furious bird raked a dagger-clawed foot along the side of its enemy. Black ichor oozed from the Bandersnatch's side as it turned its body and frill a deep, dark blue in an attempt to blend in with the night sky. Multiple legs climbed higher as it hurried away, deciding to find its next meal elsewhere.

 

Cleaning its injuries with its long, prehensile tongue, the Jubjub bird never saw the two flames that appeared behind it.

 

Zoro drew his vorpal sword, Wadou Ichimonji, from her white saya and waited for what he knew was coming into the clearing next.

 

The whiffling sound the owner of the flames made went unnoticed as the bird continued to clean its injuries. The Tulgey wood trees shone as the owner of the flaming eyes moved forward to emerge into the clearing. Its whiffling became a soft burbling as the Jubjub bird finally noticed the much larger newcomer, its jaws dripping saliva at the smell of blood and ichor.

 

The Jubjub bird stopped cleaning itself and let out an undignifiedsquawk before rapidly flying away, leaving behind the rest of the partially-eaten goat.

 

Satisfied that it could eat its ill-gotten meat in peace, the Jabberwock descended from the tops of the Tulgey wood trees, the flames in its eyes shining down on the remains of the goat. It landed on the dead beast and began to rend, its feathered claws tearing into the farm animal's flesh. The creatureused its long neck to bury its head inside of the goat as it went after the nutritious innards, the deep red waistcoat the Jabberwock wore disguised the occasional spatter of goat blood.

 

Zoro decided that now was the time to attack.

 

Silently, the swordsman crept out from behind the Tulgey wood grove and over to the side of the feeding Jabberwock. Despite the strong scent of goat blood, the creature raised its head at the same time that Zoro raised his vorpal sword. The pair froze for an instant before Zoro gave a vicious slash at the Jabberwock. The creature whiffled as it shot its neck out, its jaws closing a mere hair's breath from the man's side.

 

Both combatants fell back and readied for another round. Neither had hit their target.

 

Leaping forward, Zoro's katana went snicker-snack as it sliced towards the Jabberwock, who lashed out with a taloned claw.

 

This time, both combatants didn't miss.

 

The claw hit Zoro in his chest, shredding his shirt and the skin beneath as the vorpal weapon made short work of the terrible claw. The claw fell to the forest floor, the front of Zoro's shirt still grasped in its talons. The Jabberwock let out yet another burbling cry as it shot its neck out, aiming for the swordsman's bloody midsection as Zoro brought up his katana and sliced through the dying creature's claws to free himself, causing the Jabberwock to loudly blurble once again.

 

The super-sharpened blade easily sliced the underside of the Jabberwock's throat. The creature thrashed about as Zoro leaped back once and again as blood and fire poured from the scaled throat, covering the remains of the dead goat in burning blood. Flapping its wings, the Jabberwock whiffled once more and settled on the burning remains of the goat, the weight of its body smothering the flames its fiery blood created. Its wings flapped in death throes as the pair created a bloody, charred mound in the clearing.

 

The swordsman watched as the firelight in the Jabberwock's eyes faded and went out, its wings still flapping.

 

Once Zoro was sure that Jabberwock was no more, he used his vorpal blade on the creature's neck, the familiar snicker-snack noise comforting as it made slicing off the creature's head quick work.

 

He wrapped it in his blanket, avoiding the wings as they flapped a few more times before stilling forever.

 _  
_ Leaving the rest of the dead creature where it lay, Zoro raced along the path he had previously cut through the gyre and gimble. Heading back to his village, he made the normally two hour walk in record time.

 

Children followed Zoro as he galumphed through the village, clamoring to be shown the thing that dripped black blood from beneath the blanket.

 

The commotion brought Koshiro to the doorway of the dojo, across the street from the elderly goat-owner's home just as he came out to see what the noise was about.

 

Zoro placed the blanket-covered object on the ground at the elderly man's feet.

 

“My goat?” he asked.

 

Zoro's stern expression left no doubt that the prized goat was dead.

 

Dropping to one knee, Zoro unwrapped the Jabberwock's head. A boy of about six, who had been playing in front of the old man's home shrieked as the other children gasped in awe.

 

“The Jubjub bird and the Bandersnatch are both heavily wounded,” Zoro said, standing.

 

_"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?_

_Come to my arms, my beamish boy!  
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"_

 

said the elderly man, gently hugging the injured swordsman. “We must celebrate your victory over the great beast! But now, I must send you to your father who should bind your wounds.”

 

He patted Zoro on an uninjured shoulder before leading the younger man towards Koshiro and the dojo. The children began to dance around the severed head as adults from the village made their way over to gawk at the Jabberwock.

 

“This is a day that will live on forever!” the goat-owner cried as he went back inside the house. Sitting down at his desk, he took out a quill and paper and began to write.

 

 _'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_  
_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_  
_All mimsy were the borogoves,_  
_And the mome raths outgrabe._  
  
_"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!_  
_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_  
_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun_  
_The frumious Bandersnatch!"_  
  
_He took his vorpal sword in hand:_  
_Long time the manxome foe he sought—_  
_So rested he by the Tumtum tree,_  
_And stood awhile in thought._  
  
_And as in uffish thought he stood,_  
_The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,_  
_Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,_  
_And burbled as it came!_  
  
_One, two! One, two! and through and through_  
_The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_  
_He left it dead, and with its head_  
_He went galumphing back._  
  
_"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?_  
_Come to my arms, my beamish boy!_  
_O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"_  
_He chortled in his joy._  
  
_'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_  
_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_  
_All mimsy were the borogoves,_  
_And the mome raths outgrabe._

 

**Epilogue:**

 

The little boy followed his grandfather as they made their way out of the clearing in the woods. Still holding his grandfather's hand tightly as they walked, he glanced back at the hand-written grave marker a final time: “ _Here lies our beloved goat, Sanji_.”

 

 

  
"[Jabberwocky](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jabberwocky.jpg#/media/File:Jabberwocky.jpg)" by [John Tenniel](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tenniel) \- Copied from English Wikipedia.. Licensed under Public Domain via [Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/).

**Author's Note:**

> The poem is 'Jabberwocky,' from the second part of the 'Alice in Wonderland' book, 'Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There' by Lewis Carroll (1871.) 
> 
> I didn't know it at the time, but while doing research, I found out that “ 'Jabberwocky' is one of the greatest nonsense poems written in English.” I think that's pretty cool. (^_^)
> 
> The original poem:  
> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171647  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky The reading of it is kinda corny, butyou can hear how the unusual words are pronounced. >:P 
> 
>  
> 
> I know that the wikipedia page has what could be “official” definitions of what the poem's unusual words mean, but I came up with some of my own. >:P
> 
>  
> 
> brillig – a ivy-like plant that grows low to the ground. Perfect for tripping up unaware travelers.  
> slithy toves – a kind of tree known to be home for mome raths.  
> gyre – a type of low-growing vine.  
> Gimble – a type of thorny bush with huge deep purple flowers and curved thorns that grows underneath slithy toves  
> wabe – a small lantern that had various colored lights for different uses. Red is used when dim light is needed and yellow for a bright light. Blue can only be used in a beam.  
> TumTum tree – a type of tree.  
> manxome foe – a terrifying enemy, used as a colloquialism.  
> Uffish thought – to prepare for a great battle., usually by figuring out a strategy for attack.  
> Borogoves - small animals that call out mimsy calls, which tell other borogoves and other creatures that a predator is coming. Zoro is large enough to be a predator, which is why they're calling out.  
> Mome raths – Harmless but territorial herbivores that live in the slithy toves. They are known to be curious and known to follow travelers, but quickly become bored and wander off.  
> Jabberwock – A frightening creature that loves to kill. Especially humans.  
> Jubjub bird – a meat-eating bird with a prehensile tongue large enough to fly off with a goat. It is also known to occasionally carry off small children.  
> frumious Bandersnatch – a giant color-changing, caterpillar-like creature with a frill. The vibrating frill turns red when its angry and makes a high-pitched sound. The cry is known as “frumious.”  
> vorpal sword – I'm using the Dungeons and Dragons definition meaning a “deadly” or “sharp” sword.  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal_sword  
> galumphing – I'm using the old-fashioned definition, meaning “Galloping in a triumphant manner.” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/galumphing 
> 
> No goats were harmed in the writing of this story.


End file.
